Movie reviews: All 8 MMFF 2015 films

MANILA, Philippines – The Metro Manila Film Festival is in full swing, and all the movies that are currently showing in cinemas are this year’s 8 entries.

The festival happens every year, kicking off with the Parade of Stars, and all the films being released on December 25. The festival’s awards night was held on December 27 this year. (IN PHOTOS: Stars at the MMFF Awards Night 2015)

There may be fewer choices every MMFF season – no foreign films are in theaters, including this year’s highly praised Star Wars: The Force Awakens – but moviegoers are also spoiled with choice – which of the 8 movies should they watch?

Rappler contributor and movie critic Oggs Cruz has seen all 8, and weighed in on what he thought about each of them.

Here are his reviews:

‘All You Need is Pag-ibig’ Review: Love Overdose

In spite of its flaws, Oggs enjoyed All You Need is Pag-ibig, praising director Antoinette Jadaone for her newest rom-com release. (READ: MMFF 2015: 5 Things to know about ‘All You Need is Pag-ibig’)

“If there is one proof that Filipinos are ridiculously in love with love, it is Antoinette Jadaone’s All You Need is Pag-ibig. The film, which imperfectly assembles vignettes of various love stories set in the city, is an unguarded admission of this country’s addiction to flings and flirtations.

“Thankfully, the film is quite good.”

For the complete review, click here.

‘Beauty and the Bestie’ review: An insensitive mix

On the other hand, Wenn Deramas’ Beauty and the Bestie, starring Vice Ganda and Coco Martin, tried to do too much, according to Oggs. (READ: MMFF 2015: 5 things to know about ‘Beauty and the Bestie’)

“In Beauty and the Bestie, director Wenn Deramas serves a dish that requires more than the usual care that he is used to.

“This isn’t just an inane comedy where most of the characters rely on improvisatory wit to veil Deramas’ lack of craftsmanship. The film, which has Vice Ganda team up with Coco Martin in a story that involves gun fights and beauty pageants, has a grander scope, notwithstanding the fact that it remains, at its core, a spectacle of silliness.”

For the complete review, click here.

‘Buy Now, Die Later’ Review: The price is right

Buy Now Die Later, director Randolph Longjas’ second film, is a familiar story, says Oggs, but he does an excellent job at making it his own. (READ: MMFF 2015: 5 things to know about ‘Buy Now, Die Later’)

“The premise [similar to Frank Mancuso, Jr and Larry B Williams’ Friday the 13th (1987-2000)] is aptly localized by Longjas, who conceives a store, managed by devilishly charming Santi (TJ Trinidad), that only appears to shoppers who are in dire need of some supernatural assistance to aid them in their quest for success. Longjas links the items together via characters that are connected in various indistinct ways, and also by their obvious relation to each of the 5 senses. Longjas’ clever design results in a film that admirably skirts the convenience of having disparate episodes by tying all its tales together into a single storyline that climaxes quite satisfyingly.”

For the complete review, click here.

‘Haunted Mansion’ Review: Teenagers in torment

The MMFF’s horror offering this year is Haunted Mansion, starring Janella Salvador, Marlo Mortel, and Jerome Ponce. It’s another familiar story, redone, says Oggs, but he praised the cinematography and said that the movie is better than it seems at first. (READ: MMFF 2015: 5 things to know about ‘Haunted Mansion’)

“There are absolutely no unnecessary pretensions here. Jun Lana’s Haunted Mansion is as original as its title is imaginative.

“Don’t make the mistake of belittling the film though, since it’s quite something. Set in the same high school world where bullies roam to torment the weak and men inexplicably find themselves fighting over girls who don’t seem to know how beautiful they are, Lana’s film takes a lot of time to explore what’s already old and familiar.”

For the complete review, click here.

‘Honor Thy Father’ review: Honoring its audience

This year’s controversial MMFF entry starring John Lloyd Cruz received high praise from Oggs, with regard to John Lloyd’s acting and the many-layered story. (READ: MMFF 2015: 5 things to know about ‘Honor Thy Father’)

“There are no good men in Erik Matti’s Honor Thy Father. The film is literally brimming with scumbags and hypocrites of almost every kind. It almost seems to declare that humanity is united not by its inherent goodness but its capacity for evil.

“It is an adamantly bleak and sobering film. It defiantly crawls toward cheerless resolutions. Despite its depressing implications, the film manages to capture the intense gazes it deserves, by virtue of the fact that it is exemplarily crafted by Matti and his team who are able to transform Baguio and its surrounding locales into ominous stages for men to cheat their fellow men.”

For the complete review, click here.

‘My Bebe Love: #Kilig Pa More’ review: Tolerable at best

For Oggs, the characters that shone in this film weren’t young Alden Richards and Maine Medoza’s, but veterans Aiai delas Alas and Vic Sotto’s. (READ: MMFF 2015: 5 things to know about ‘My Bebe Love’)

“Jose Javier Reyes’ My Bebe Love: #Kilig Pa More is a film that is reasonable enough to know its audience.

“Its ambitions are low and its aim is precise. The result is a predictably amiable fluff, an inoffensive piece of entertainment that desires nothing but to serve a phenomenon that caught everyone by surprise.”

For the complete review, click here.

‘Nilalang’ review: Two girls, one cop

Nilalang, starring Cesar Montano and Japanese actress Maria Ozawa, had great cinematography, but Oggs found that the story fell short. (READ: MMFF 2015: 5 things to know about ‘Nilalang’)

“Pedring Lopez’s Nilalang starts out with a bang but sadly ends with an underwhelming plop.

“It opens with a samurai fight scene that displays the film’s promise of masculine spectacles. It’s not that the film betrayed that initial promise because Lopez peppers Nilalang with sequences that confidently display his capabilities as a competent craftsman. It’s just that the promise, adeptly fulfilled even to the last minute, isn’t accompanied with the same consistency in both logic and sense.”

For the complete review, click here.

‘Walang Forever’ review: Truth in escapism

Oggs says that director Dan Villegas did his job well in light of the story’s problems with consistency. Walang Forever brought home 6 awards at the festival, including Best Picture. (READ: MMFF 2015: 5 things to know about ‘Walang Forever’)

“Dan Villegas’ Walang Forever could have been just another oddball romance that capitalizes on heartbreak for entertainment had it not been for one genius move.

“The film opens with a televised interview of Mia (Jennylyn Mercado), a famed writer of popular romantic comedies whose works, as the interview reveals, are directly inspired by key events in her romantic relationship with ex-boyfriend, Ethan (Jericho Rosales). By integrating into its narrative the creative process of a writer of commercial romances, it elevates itself from being just a purely escapist piece of entertainment and into something else, something more valuable.”

For the complete review, click here.

Which MMFF movie are you seeing this season? Let us know in the comments! – Rappler.com